Sansei

This is like getting "poked in the eye with a sharp stick" by the vendor . I guess it would be bearable if the koshirae is worth all the hassle. Otherwise, find another comparable item from a different seller.

Good to be familiar with what the papering involves: https://new.uniquejapan.com/nbthk-nihon-bijutsu-token-hozon-kyokai-certification-paper-ranking/

When someone asks the vendor about this, please post the response here. Thanks.

To help newbies spot these fakes, perhaps a list of the obvious things to look for that make it clear? Some fakes are easier to spot than others.

I was a regular seller on Ebay until they changed the shipping charge policy and starting taking a cut of that part too. Have not sold on Ebay for many years.

Stephen, How many others were bidding on this piece besides you?

Brian, you are probably right, the prices are high. But, have you checked to price of real estate and other collectibles lately? Worldwide inflation.

The general officer's "TSUDA ECHIZEN NO KAMI SUKE HIRO" and dated to 1681. Currently bid at around 15k USD. looks like a nice piece to me. Might be a good addition to someone's collection. Needs better closeup photos like you say.

Good question Nathan. "Perfection" is a goal, not a state of being.

Nathan, you could make the seller a fair offer then try and meet half way. The seller won't be offended imo so long as your offer doesn't seem like low-balling. I think it's a nice piece, myself.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Your order has been canceled Order 31139 was canceled at your request and your payment has been refunded . Refunded Items Antique Nakago Section with a Poem carved × 1 Refunded ¥62,000 Subtotal ¥62,000 Shipping ¥2,400 Total ¥64,400 JPY Paypal ¥64,400 Refund Paypal - ¥64,400

Koichi, actually my question was about the manufacturing process; that is, the process of making the blade itself. Not the names of the people or the historical facts. If a blade like this was to be made today, would the carving be done after the blade was polished or before?

Koichi, a question; when was the design on the blade done? Was it carved before or after the polishing and who would have done it - an artisan?

Nice photographs.

P.S. I once taught English-as-a-Second-Language to native Japanese speakers. The English articles (a, an) are difficult for them to learn.

As Brian says, "There are [a] Few Cracks" seems to be a standard "cover your butt" line in these listings. So, it's probably okay. Hope it all works out for the best, Andrew.

Tom, unlike others on this forum, I am a neophyte regarding nihonto. I found this discussion of gimei and thought it was interesting and informative: https://blog.yuhindo.com/gimei/ Wish you the best of luck with your sword.

Agree. ************************************************************************ Message from Yamato Budogu WAIT! Have you contacted us before? First, we really sorry to know that our product or service didn’t meet your expectations. Did you try to contact us by email info@yamatobudogu.com or FB messenger https://www.facebook.com/yamato.budogu.shop to let us know the about the problem? It may be a chance that the email didn't reached us and in those cases contact us by Facebook messenger can be a good option too. We will love to know what specifically was it about the product or service that you didn’t like and work together about it, and if necessary even make a refund. PLEASE NOTE: Once a dispute is made through PayPal, it will take longer. The fastest way will be contact us directly, since once PayPal receive a complaint the payment get in "hold" and we can neither refund nor cancel the payment until the investigation is over, and that can take several weeks. So please consider contact us directly to solve this smoothly and fast as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your understanding.

Per Brian's post above, it is apparently nearly impossible for ordinary Japanese citizens to import swords. Several years ago my mother had been contacted by her nephew in Japan about returning a katana to Japan, that her father (his uncle) had given to her and her husband when they were married and moved to Hawaii. Her nephew had wanted to organize a dedication or memorial to her father who had been a Sensei. I trained a little with sensei when we were stationed in Japan; he was in his 80's at the time and I was in junior high school. Her father's Sensei in turn had apparently been Emperor Hirohito's trainer or one of them. This is what I am told. Anyway, the Japanese government rules and regulations are so strict and burdensome that her nephew just decided to give up trying to bring the katana back to Japan.

FYI. Unfortunate things can happen. Fortunately, a very honest dealer. See below: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To:Yamato Budogu Fri, Oct 1 at 8:28 AM Hello, Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I appreciate your effort. I understand now that the item was previously sold. I was referred to this item online at a Nihonto forum (see below). It appears to be as you say, a link to a previous listing. It is curious that the system allowed this sale to process without notification or signal that the item is no longer available. No problem. Please provide a credit back to my credit card for the amount charged. I may be interested in the new item by Iwasaki Sensei, however it is not possible for me to wait 3 to 5 weeks as this was intended to be a gift to another person. Please let me know when the new item is available and I will consider a new purchase at that time. Thank you again for your customer service. Raymond ************************************************************************************************* BIG Posted yesterday at 12:20 PM https://www.yamatobudogu.com/products/antique-nakago-section-with-a-poem-carved NAKAGO SECTION https://www.yamatobudogu.com/products/antique-nakago-section-with-a-poem-carved ********************************************************************************************** On Friday, October 1, 2021, 01:00:51 AM GMT-8, Yamato Budogu <info@yamatobudogu.com> wrote: Dear Raymond San Thank you very much for your email. Actually, we was going to contact you to asking you how you was able to order this item. This was a special and unique item made by Iwarasaki Norimitsu Sensei many years ago as "first come - first served" kind of item, and after become sold out the item stop to be available from our website. Perhaps did you saved a directly URL address to the old link? Being this said, Im afraid that this piece is not available anymore, however today we contact to Iwasaki Sensei about this issue and it seems he has another antique Nakago carved with Sakura flowers too. Obviously this item will not be exactly the same as the once in the previous link, since each old blade shape, length is unique but we can talk with the Sensei to make a similar for you. It may take around 3~5 weeks, and no wood box available this time. Please let us know if you agree to wait, then we will ask to the Sensei more in details the length of the Antique Nakago available to make the piece for you. Looking forward to your reply and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask us. Again, thank you very much for choosing us and best regards from Japan. YAMATO BUDOGU www.yamatobudogu.com • High Quality Japanese Budo Equipment • 【大和武道具】 【日本】 Japan On Fri, Oct 1, 2021 at 11:59 AM RTM <rtmworldnets@yahoo.com> wrote:

There have been unknown numbers of true Nihonto "lost" in much worse fashion, I think.

So, have you purchased any swords from China?

Thanks for the opportunity. I purchased this item.